• Four other cult members were also hanged and eight more remain on death row

Shoko Asahara, the doomsday cult leader who masterminded the Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995, has been executed alongside six of his followers.

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Thirteen people were killed and thousands more injured when members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult dumped bags of sarin on packed rush hour trains, piercing the pouches with sharpened umbrella tips before fleeing.

The nerve agent caused horrendous deaths and injuries, and prompted mass panic, turning Japan’s busy capital city into something resembling a war zone.

Born Chizuo Matsumoto, Asahara, 63, was hanged today after he had been on death row for nearly 14 years.

As many as 12 of his followers were still awaiting execution but it was not immediately clear how many had been executed today.

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Shoko Asahara (pictured in police custody in September 1995), the cult leader who masterminded the Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995, has been executed

Victims are treated after the sarin nerve gas attack in Tokyo in March 1995 which caused horrendous casualties

Shoko Asahara who was behind Tokyo sarin gas attack is hanged

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Asahara was sentenced to death in 2004 with his cult held responsible for the deaths of 29 people in total.

After years of legal proceedings, the prosecution of 13 Aum Shinrikyo members on death row for the attacks and other crimes finally concluded in January, clearing the way for their execution.

Passengers streamed out of stations vomiting after the attack, coughing and struggling to breathe, with emergency services administering life-saving treatment by the side of the road.

Ambulances screamed through the streets, and helicopters landed on major roads to assist the evacuation of those affected, while passengers convulsed on platforms.